After rebirth, she became the favorite of the powerful minister.

As a child, I envied Zhuang Mengdie. Zhuang Mengdie had a pair of maternal grandparents who doted on her. In the early years, before she went down the mountain to travel, her maternal grandparents would come to Zhixuan Mountain to celebrate the New Year almost every year, and the whole family would live a lively and joyous life.

That was a kind of excitement that Yuan Ge had never experienced before.

She had also asked Yuan Qi why they didn't have such maternal grandparents. That time, the usually gentle and mild-mannered Yuan Qi softly replied, "They're probably dead..."

After that, Yuan Ge never asked that question again, after all... the dead cannot be brought back to life.

Listening to these stories now, she still had little interest. "They are just old stories, and the people in the stories are completely unfamiliar to me. They are no different from Zhang San or Li Si at the foot of the mountain."

“Ge’er…”

Feng Qingtan's hesitant manner was too obvious. For some reason, Yuan Ge always felt that the other woman's gaze was filled with self-blame and remorse. She didn't like this kind of gaze that seemed to hide too many stories. This kind of gaze made her feel nervous and sad for no reason.

She straightened up slightly and said, "It's getting late, you should rest. If you really want to tell these stories to someone, then wait until you've recovered."

“It’s alright.” Feng Qingtan insisted on speaking. He lowered his eyes and chuckled softly before saying, “After your mother got married, Wanyu’s health deteriorated more and more… It was originally a heart ailment. Even though I prescribed a lot of medicine to treat her, her body was depleted day by day. In addition, she was listless and spent most of her time lying in bed. She would only come to talk to me on occasional sunny days… At that time, I was practicing medicine at a pharmacy in Anshi.”

"Ha... I've been free and unrestrained for most of my life, yet I've stayed in Anshi for several years because of her."

Yuan Ge lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, reminding him, "But you have stayed at Zhixuan Mountain for more than ten years."

Feng Qingtan looked up at her, sighed silently, and finally broke through the last barrier, "Because... everything started because of me, I feel guilty towards you."

Yuan Ge suddenly looked up, meeting the other person's gaze directly. She shuddered as if her eyes had been burned, yet stubbornly refused to look away, scrutinizing the other person's expression, trying to discern even the slightest hint of a joke. But... she couldn't see anything; instead, she felt increasingly terrified. Clutching her traditional Chinese medicine book, she forced a trembling voice to speak, "Teacher... this joke isn't funny."

“I’ll take it seriously,” she said.

"It's true..."

"Teacher!" Yuan Ge slammed the book she was holding onto the table with a "bang," her face turning completely cold. "Teacher, I don't like this story. Please go home!"

Feng Qingtan wiped up the spilled tea, picked up the book, flipped through a couple of pages, and then carefully chose her words before saying, "During that time, she often came to see me, and she seemed to have more energy and spirit when she spoke, and she looked much better... I thought she had finally gotten over it on her own. Who knew that she actually planned to die together with Murong Zhen."

Yuan Ge was slightly taken aback.

“I should have realized it… She hated Murong Zhen to the core, and that hatred grew and eroded day by day. How could she possibly get over it?” Feng Qingtan’s withered hand unconsciously rubbed the book in her hand, and she lowered her eyes and reiterated regretfully, “I should have realized it… But I was deceived by the signs of her improvement at that time, until the day I was tidying up the medicine cabinet at home and found that two bottles of poison were missing.”

“During those years in Anshi, I didn’t even have a servant by my side. I lived a secluded life and rarely had any friends visiting. During that time, the only person who came to my house was your maternal grandmother. I went to the Murong family to visit them and try to get back those two bottles of poison, but she avoided me... I didn’t see her for a long time after that.”

When Feng Qingtan recounted this story, she spoke slowly, even more so than usual, because of her inner turmoil. This slowness left much room for interpretation.

Yuan Ge listened quietly, her fingers unconsciously tightening their grip, even her breathing becoming still. It felt as if waves were surging in her heart, one after another. From a distance, they didn't seem fast or dangerous, but no one knew if the next wave would be a monstrous one... She asked, "And then?" Her voice was strained and hoarse from the effort.

Feng Qingtan didn't speak; his eyes were slightly closed, as if he were asleep. After a long while, he sighed sadly, "I never saw your maternal grandmother again after that, only received a letter from her..."

"She asked me to come and save people."

"Save people? How could she know about Zhixuan Mountain so quickly? Or did she know all along that those people were coming under the guise of visiting relatives..." Yuan Ge was suspicious. Could a woman who had no say in the affairs of the inner quarters and lived a secluded life really have such a fast source of information?

As expected, Feng Qingtan shook his head, his head bowed low, his gaze fixed on a single fingertip. He said, "She's always been very well-behaved since childhood. When she tries to tell a lie, she blushes, her eyes dart, and she's completely uncomfortable. Unlike you, girl… She took the poison from me. She was discovered as soon as she entered the door. By then, I was already somewhat famous; my poisons and medicines all had their own markings, known to everyone. Murong Zhen saw them and naturally took them…"

At this point, he finally slowly raised his head, his cloudy eyes filled with a complex and unreadable expression.

He said, "One of those bottles was used on you when you were only four years old."

The hurricane arrived suddenly, whipping up layers of waves that surged skyward and then crashed in.

The immense force was almost tangible. Yuan Ge felt her vision blur and her whole body spin. Her throat burned with pain. She cleared her throat with difficulty and continued with a bitter smile, "So it wasn't Grandfather who approached you, but you who were asked to find Zhixuan Mountain, right?"

“…Yes, but I’m still late.” Feng Qingtan lowered his head again, his chin almost touching his chest. From the side, he looked like a shrimp curled up.

Yuan Ge twitched the corners of her mouth, wanting to laugh but unable to. She didn't even know what was going on. While she was searching for information about Murong everywhere, someone in the know was watching her busy work... and this person in the know was the person she trusted most besides her grandfather and brother, her mentor.

“You really kept it a secret…” she said, then inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, “But fate is cruel. There’s no need to say anything like ‘I feel guilty.’ The poison was yours, but you didn’t use it. You can’t be blamed for it. If we were to be so particular, I would have been guilty of a terrible sin long ago.”

Feng Qingtan's eyes flickered slightly. "No, Ge'er, I should have insisted on getting the poison back when I discovered it had been stolen. That way, your Yuan clan wouldn't have suffered this calamity."

Over the years, he has become increasingly regretful, but along with his regret, he has also felt a sense of relief that he despises himself, which makes him even more disgusted with himself.

These emotions weighed heavily on him, unspeakable and unspoken. Now, seeing his life hanging by a thread, he dared to rely on his half-dead state to beg for understanding... He didn't even dare to ask for forgiveness.